Titanium and titanium alloys

Josef Strsk
Lecture 3: Technological aspects of Ti alloys
Pure Ti metallurgy, properties and applications
+ alloys
microstructures, metallurgy, heat treatment
Ti-6Al-4V alloy properties and applications

High temperature alloys

Metastable -alloys
Metallurgy, heat treatment

High strength alloys

 Pure titanium and a - alloys
After cooling a phase only
Alloys contain Al and Sn, interstitial O, C, N and only limited
amount of b-stabilizers
Comparatively low strength (pure Ti)
Pure Ti strengthened by interstitial O
a alloys strengthen also via substitutional strengthening
and precipitates (Ti3Al)
 Pure Ti grade 1 - 4
Commercial purity CP Ti is manufactured with four different
oxygen contents (grade 1- 4)
Oxygen content is decisive for strength of the material
CP Ti is cheaper than Ti alloys
Corrosion resistance is the key advantage when compared other
classes of materials
Corrosion resistance can be further increased by small content of
Pd or Ru (0.05 -0.2 %)

Grade O [wt.%] Fe (max.) [wt.%] s02 [MPa]

CP Ti Grade 1 0.18 0.2 170
CP Ti Grade 2 0.25 0.3 275
CP Ti Grade 3 0.35 0.3 380
CP Ti Grade 4 0.40 0.5 480
 Pure Ti - applications
Chemical and petrochemical industry, power plants
Resistant to aggressive chemicals
Heat exchangers, pipes,
Pressure vessels
Can be used over wide range of temperatures and pressures
Chemically resistant
Cryogenic vessels
Storage of liquid oxygen and hydrogen
used in space-shuttles lighter than steel
 Pure Ti biomedical use
Non-toxic inert material
Pure Ti can be used only for implants without extensive
demands for strength, otherwise stronger alloys must be
used
Some small orthopaedic fixation implants
Dental implants (stents)
current use of ultra-fine grained CP Ti
 a + b - alloys
After cooling mixture of a and b phases
The original and still the most common high-strength Ti
alloys
Three different types of microstructures can be achieved by
thremal treatment
Fully lamellar
Bimodal (also called duplex)
Equiaxed (also called globular)
 a + b alloys lamellar microstructure
Above beta-transus temperature, the material consist of beta grains
only
Upon cooling the structure transforms to lamellar structure. Alpha
lamallae are created within the grains.
Key parameter is cooling after recrystallization treatment
The higher speed the finer lamellae are created
Typical width is 0.5 5 mm
Typical length hundreds of mm
Lower strength and formability, good low-cycle fatigue performance
(when compared to other microstructures)
 a + b alloys duplex microstructure
Duplex (bimodal) structure consists of lamellar structure (a + b area)
and in the grain triple-points there are created equiaxed a-particles
so-called primary alpha (ap)
Duplex structure can be achieved by annealing in the a+b field (just
below b-transus temperature)
Key parameters are:
1. Cooling rate after homogenization treatment in b-field
The rate is decisive for the a lamellae size
2. Temperature of annealing in a + b field
Temperature is decisive for volume fraction of primary a phase (ap)
 a + b alloys globular microstructure
Globular (equiaxed) microstructure consists of equiaxed
particles of primary a phase (ap), b-phase is along the grain
boundaries
Equiaxed structure can be achieved similarly to duplex
structure
Lower cooling rate after recrystallization
Lower recrystallization annealing temperature
Small grains might be achieved
a + b alloys microstructure comparison
Lamellar
Size of the a-lamellae is decisive for strength (smaller is better)
Bigger lamellae cause slower propagation of fatigue crack (increased fatigue
toughness)
Duplex
Size of lamellae and volume fraction of primary a-phase affect strength of
the material
Higher strength when compared to lamellar structure
Optimal volume fraction of primary a-phase is 15-20%
Equiaxed
Grain size affects the strength of the material
Small grain size is achievable (even below < 2 mm)
Highest attainable strength
 Ti-6Al-4V alloy
a + b alloy
The oldest and the most used titanium alloy (denoted Grade 5, just after 4 Grades of
Pure Ti)
High strength (1000 MPa), excellent formability
Formability in a + b alloys is improved thanks to high content of beta phase (that is easier to form) at
forming temperatures

50% of whole titanium and titanium alloys production (but b alloys are being
increasingly produced)
b-stabilizing vanadium causes the presence of b-phase at room temperature
increased strength at room temperature
improved formability at elevated temperatures

During recrystalization, both phases are chemically stabilized

Aluminium causes solid solution strengthening, but more importantly precipitation
strengthening due to precipitation of Ti3Al particles during ageing
Solvus temperature of these particles is around 550C
Typical final ageing treatment is 500C/ 2-24 hod
 Ti-6Al-4V alloy - properties
Typical impurities content: O: 0.2; N: 0.04; H: 0.015; Cu: 0.35-1;
Fe: 0.35-1 wt.%
Density: 4,54 g/cm3
Yield stress: 830 1100 MPa
Ultimate tensile strength: 895 1250 MPa
Higher content of O, N a C increases strength but decreases formability
High cycle fatigue limit: 550 700 MPa
Approximately 0,6 x yield stress
Extreme notch sensitivity
Surface quality is the key factor of hygh-cycle fatigue
Elastic modulus 120 GPa
Creep resistance up to 400C
 Ti-6Al-4V - applications
Structural parts of airplanes
Higher specific strength and fatigue performance than
aluminium and steels, moreover higher corrocion resistance
Structure and landing-gear of Boeing 747 (Jumbo Jet)
20-30 tonnes of titanium (out of 180 tonnes)
Construction of wings and body of military aircrafts
fighter F-22
 Ti-6Al-4V - applications
Airplanes engines
Ti-6Al-4V alloy usable only up to 300 400C
Rotating parts
Low specific density is even more important
Fatigue endurance
High-cycle fatigue rotation of the engine parts
Low-cycle fatigue each start of the motor (including temperature fatigue)
Non-rotating parts
Shafts and connections of engines to the wings and the body
Fatigue performance is still important due to vibrations
 Ti-6Al-4V alloy other applications
Power plants steam turbines
Oil and gas mining
Deep-sea oil platforms
Armor
Much lighter than steel, but expensive
Sporting goods
Medicine
Vanadium is believed to be toxic
Anyway still the most used alloy
Total endoprostheses of big joints
 High-temperature alloys
The aim is to suppress creep decrease diffusivity
Smaller ratio of b-phase (5 - 10% vs. 15% u Ti6Al4V)
Diffusivity in Molybdenum is lower than in Vanadium
Increased temperature lead to dissolution of Ti3Al particles (decreased
strength)
IMI 384 intermetallic particles (Ti,Zr)5Si3 (solvus is above 1000C)
Maximum working temperature Ti-6242 500C; IMI 834 550C
Ti 6242 (Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo)
IMI 834 (Ti-5.8AI-4Sn-3.5Zr-0.7Nb-0.5Mo-0.35Si)
Applications
Airplanes engines
APU (auxiliary power unit)
 Metastable b alloys
Metastable b-alloys do not undergo martensitic phase transformation b a after
quenching from b-region
Solution treated material consist of pure b-phase, but equilibrium composition is a + b
Precipitation hardenable by (precise) thermal treatment
Modern, fast developing field of research and application of Ti alloys
Working can be done after homogenization treatment in b-region (more common) or in a +
b field (material is hardened during working, but grain refinement can be achieved)
Alloys can be divided according to processing to beta-annealed and beta-worked
Beta-annealed alloys are recrystallized slightly above b-transus temperature after
deformation
Beta-worked alloys are not recrystallized in b-region
Bothe types can be annealed/aged in a+b region.
 Metastable b alloys strengthening
After annealing in b-region material
consists of pure b-phase
Comparatively low strength, given by chemical composition (solid
solution strengthening and eventual precipitation hardening) and
grain size
Strength can be increased from 450 MPa to 1200 Mpa
(Ti-Nb-Zr-Ta-Fe-Si-O alloy)
Low-stabilized alloys Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo beta worked, annealed
Lamellae of a-phase are created during annealing at high
temperatures in a + b region
Ageing small a-plates can be created

High-stabilized alloys
a precipitates can be formed after formation of precursors w or b
Strength can be increased from 600 MPa to 1400 MPa (Ti LCB)

Ti-4.5Fe-6.8Mo-1.5Al beta annealed, aged

 Metastable b-alloys - examples
Usually used as high-strength alloys in aerospace
industry
Often combines strengthening effects of b-stabilizing
and a-stabilizing elements
Ti-13-11-3 (Ti-13V-11Cr-3Al) the first b-alloy (1955)
Beta III (Ti-11.5Mo-6Zr-4.5Sn)
Beta C (Ti-3Al-8V-6Cr-4Mo-4Zr)
Ti-10-2-3 (Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al)
Ti-15-3-3-3 (Ti-15V-3Cr-3Al-3Sn)
Timetal-LCB (low cost beta) (Ti-4.5Fe-6.8Mo-1.5Al)
Timetal 21 S, Beta CEZ, Ti-8823,
 High-strength metastable b-alloys
Beta III (Ti-11.5Mo-6Zr-4.5Sn)
Strength: 690 1240 MPa
Excellent cold-workability
After high deformation and thermal treatment strength > 1400 MPa
Connecting parts in airplanes
Beta C (Ti-3Al-8V-6Cr-4Mo-4Zr)
Strength up to 1400 MPa
Airplane components and deep-sea oil-wells
Ti-10-2-3 (Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al)
Excellent hot-formability (near net shape processing)
Boeing 777 landing gear
(the first aircraft containing higher amount of b-alloys than Ti-6Al-4V)
At 315C still more than > 80% of room temperature strength (750 - 1250 MPa)
Main rotor of helicopters
Ti-15-3-3-3 (Ti-15V-3Cr-3Al-3Sn)
Excellent cold formability lower manufacturing costs than Ti6Al4V
Boeing 777 tiny connecting parts (but more than 30 000pcs)
 Timetal LCB
TIMETAL-LCB (Ti-4.5Fe-6.8Mo-1.5Al)
low cost beta
Employs cheap iron content instead of vanadium and instead of extensive
amount molybdenum
Ti-Mo master alloy is used for casting
Strength 900 1400 MPa
Elastic modulus 110 120 GPa (steels = 200 GPa)
Application springs (airplanes, cars)
Low-elastic modulus combined with high specific strength
Lowest elastic modulus b-solution treated condition (but: lowest strength)
Strength can be increased by precipitation of a-phase (but: higher elastic
modulus)
Trade-off between elastic modulus and strength can be tuned by heat
treatment
Saves up to 70% of weight (compared to steels)
 Lecture 3: Summary
Pure Ti (grade 1 4)
Oxygen content determines the strength of material
Generally lower strength than alloys (up to 500 MPa)
Application: pipes in chemical industry
+ alloys
Different microstructures (lamellar, duplex, globular)
depending on thermo-mechanical treatment
Ti-6Al-4V alloy - the most used alloy aerospace industry,
orthopaedics
High-temperature alloys
Increased creep resistance (up to 550C)
Airplane engines
Metastable b-alloys
High-strength alloys (up to 1400 MPa)
Structural parts of airplanes
Developing field, expanding applicability
 Titanium and titanium alloys
Josef Strsk

Thank you!
Project FRV 559/2013 is gratefully acknowledged for providing financial support.